


There’s Always Time

by UnicornAffair



Series: Ranger Holiday One Shots [3]
Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: F/F, The boys are there as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 05:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17016435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Christmas was Shelby’s favorite time of year, she just wished Kendall would stop working for once and enjoy the holiday.





	There’s Always Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jadedsunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadedsunshine/gifts).



> Happy 11 month anniversary! I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that I wrote you a Kendall/Shelby fic. Power Rangers dino charge was the first season, our first date streaming the series. So, it was really only suiting :)

When constantly battling and protecting the world from alien bounty hunters, the holiday made  _ something _ fun for the Power Rangers to look forward to. Shelby herself was absolutely giddy at making Amber Beach Museum a  _ holiday _ friendly place for all. There was a spark that ignited within her the day after Halloween,  _ Christmas was coming,  _ her personal favorite holiday. While a public place like the Museum and Dino Bite Cafe needed to stay neutral territory for  _ all  _ holidays. That wasn’t going to stop Shelby from convincing the boys that setting up a Christmas tree in their ranger base. It was far too easy to convince Koda and Ivan to do all the heavy lifting for her.

Over time, the ranger team had become such a  _ family,  _ and this was the time for cheer for  _ being _ in one another’s company and taking stock of the year, of memories. They had  _ made _ it, Amber Beach was still safe and the energems weren’t in the evil Heckyl’s grasp. Shelby had gone to the store with Riley and Tyler in search of the perfect garnishing for their new tree. Solid colored ball ornaments in the rangers colors, colorful lights to bring a little razzle dazzle, a golden star to rest a top of it, and of  _ course _ it wouldn’t be an Amber Beach Christmas tree without plenty of dinosaurs hanging from the tree. 

“Ms Morgan! Would you like to help us decorate the tree?” Shelby asked the purple ranger. Kendall had been sitting at her computer, rubbing her temples and doing  _ everything _ in her power not to snap at the pink ranger for playing Christmas music while she was trying to focus. 

“I don’t have time” Kendall was in the process of making a new energem to assist James, the aqua ranger, while he was still out and about. “You can decorate it without me”

Shelby was about to argue, there was  _ always _ time for Christmas. Kendall simply needed to take a freaking  _ break _ for three seconds and enjoy the magic happening around them. Riley, knowing how Ms Morgan could get under stress, rested a hand on Shelby’s shoulder. “Maybe for the next thing” He smiled hopefully, knowing that the pink ranger’s intentions were good at heart. 

From afar, Kendall could glance up from her computer every now and again to see the core five rangers having fun setting up the three. As if she wasn’t there, she didn’t  _ need _ to be after all. Chase and Riley of course couldn’t agree on how to line the tree with the lights. Tyler stood a top of Koda’s shoulders to try and place the star on the top. With a loud gasp Shelby witnessed the tree they had worked so hard on toppling over.

“Oh” Koda sheepishly laughed, feeling at fault for the  _ mess _ in the base, “I’m sorry”

“It’s okay Koda...we can make it even better this time” Tyler reassured the blue ranger, his smile wide. As a leader he believed in trying to be positive and making the best out of the situation. He was right, the  _ next tree,  _ looked phenomenal that even Keeper had been amazed. 

*****

Another battle, another win for the Power Rangers. Just because the rangers wanted to take breaks, didn’t mean Sledge would. After an exhausting fight, the gang-minus Ivan, decided that instead of going home to their apartment they would use the Dino Bite kitchen in order to make Christmas cookies.

“Stop! You have to wait until they’re done! There’s raw egg in this” Shelby had to swat Koda’s hand out, she needed to protect the batter from the caveman using his hand as a scoop to steal some away. 

“I’m hungry” Koda whined, after an exhausting battle like  _ that _ all he wanted to do was eat  _ something,  _ anything to keep his stomach from growling like a beast. 

“No worries” Chase clapped his hands together, “Why don’t Shelby and I stick to the cookies and you guys go out and bring us some Jungle Karma Pizza? There’s some coupons in my bag” Pizza would be a welcome change from Bronto Burgers. “Buy two get one free”

“Okay, cool” Tyler joked, nudging Riley’s shoulder, “So we get two Koda pizzas and one pizza for the rest of us?”

“That’s pretty accurate Koda math to me” The green ranger laughed, “We’ll be back in a half hour” Judging by how long it would take to bake the cookies, they would time it well enough to for them to bake, cool, and be ready to decorate by the time they ate a couple of slices. A perfect plan. 

When the blue, red and green ranger exited the building it gave black and pink a chance to catch up. Chase didn’t say it much, but he loved to be in the kitchen, it gave him peace of mind when he was missing his family overseas. “So, in spirit of the holidays, I was thinking it could be fun to hang up some mistletoe” He couldn’t help the hearty chuckle escape his chest just  _ picturing _ how to explain the concept to the likes of Koda and Ivan. 

“Hoping to catch Riley?” Shelby asked, knowing  _ all _ too well how the black ranger felt for the green one. He looked absolutely flabbergasted by the suggestion, her brows rose sky high, did he really think he was fooling anyone? Ha. “Holiday’s  _ do _ bring out that magic”

“Aha, too bad I’ll be going back home and Riley will be heading to the farm” Chase shrugged, this wouldn’t be their  _ year,  _ if the possibility of  _ they _ was even possible, “Are you going home for the holidays?  _ Or _ are you planning on getting cozy with Ms Morgan beside the fire?” His brows waggled, Shelby had to punch his arm to get him to stop teasing her. Two could play at this game. He wasn’t blind to her feelings for the purple ranger. She and Tyler were never going to be more than friends. 

“I don’t know” Shelby shrugged albit sadly, “I like it here...if I go home, all I’ll hear about is the Watkins family business...I shouldn’t have to go through the motions” The rangers sometimes felt more like a  _ family _ than her own flesh and blood. Her dad was constantly pushing her to go into business, but  _ here _ she could live out her dreams. She didn’t want to see ice cream, she wanted to study dinosaurs. “It’s Christmas, I want to enjoy it”

Chase smiled sympathetically; with Tyler reuniting with his father, and Chase and Riley returning to their homes for the holidays...it left a hole in the team. Purple, Gold, and Blue could handle protecting the city for the special days,  “Why don’t we have a Christmas party before our send off? Presents, I can make a roast! For family”

Shelby’s excitement dial switched from zero to thirty at the idea of having a holiday party before everyone split up. A real chance to have a ranger-family night. She surprised the black ranger by wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders in a hug, “Yes! Yes! Yes” She smiled wide, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“....Mistletoe?”

The pink ranger rolled her eyes, that boy had a one track mind to get the smooches on. “Secret Santa” That way the rangers didn’t have to stress buying  _ everyone _ a present. They lived off of Dino Bite cafe minimum wage after all.  

Awhile later, the boys returned with the pizzas only to realize that they had locked themselves out of the museum. Shelby left the cafe in order to let the others in, they really shouldn’t have been in here after hours. The museum and cafe were separate from the base underneath the establishment, Kendall wouldn’t be thrilled if the rangers were hanging about. It wasn’t like they were doing anything  _ bad,  _ just making cookies. Just as the pink ranger was turning to head after the boys for some much needed pizza, she noticed that there was a light on at the end of the hallway. Did Ms Morgan not go home after the fight? They had won. Why was she still  _ here?  _

Later on, Shelby could escape from the boys, a plate of cookies in hand. She gently knocked on Ms. Morgan’s office door but there was no answer. Maybe she just left the light on, even so that felt odd. The pink ranger followed her gut and opened the door only to find that the purple ranger had fallen asleep at her desk, her head resting on a mountain of paperwork. She had been spending so much time in the secret lab that her responsibilities as the proprietor of the museum piled on. The poor young woman was firing on all cylinders and exhausting herself. 

Shelby didn’t want to wake her, she knew  _ that _ wouldn’t end well. An awake Kendall would get overly defensive over her personal space, and Shelby didn’t want to embarrass the woman for waking her up in her own office. Instead she left the plate of cookies on a different part of her desk, something nice to wake up to. She was as determined as ever to get Kendall to relax, breathe, and find some holiday spirit.

*****

Donned in a special pink Santa hat that she found at the dollar store, Shelby embodied the Christmas spirit. She plucked Chase’s favorite baseball cap from his head and placed everyone’s name inside for drawing. Tyler, marching her energy level, eagerly made sure  _ he  _ was the one to pick first. The moment he opened his slip of paper and read off the name his smile went wide, his mind filling with ideas on what to get them. 

Chase was next, he pulled a name, his smirk all too telling. Shelby shook the hat in front of the black ranger, no one was going to cheat the system, “You can’t get  _ yourself  _ something” One more shake, this time with purpose, “Put it back” 

With a huff, the black ranger returned the slip of paper in favor of picking another. Tyler stood behind Shelby, shaking his head at Chase entertaining the thought of cheating the system. When the pink ranger was satisfied knowing that Chase picked a  _ new  _ name that wasn’t himself she moved onto Riley, then to Ivan, then Koda which left only one...Kendall. 

The purple ranger sat at her computer, typing away frantically on her keyboard. She didn’t even realize that Shelby was standing next to her until the pink ranger audibly cleared her throat. “It’s your turn to pick for secret santa” 

Kendall took off her glasses and held onto the bridge of her nose, “I don’t have  _ time  _ for secret santa” She was overworked and tired, the last thing she wanted was to listen to Christmas music on repeat. Kendall did her best at letting the other rangers have their fun, but there was still work that needed to be done. “You should’ve asked if I even  _ wanted _ to participate”

“You’re telling me that you don’t have  _ time _ to go onto amazon?” Shelby knew for a damn fact that Kendall had prime and could get free two day shipping with a click of the mouse, “There’s  _ always  _ time for Christmas”

“Tyler, Riley, and Chase are going  _ home  _ for the holidays.  _ You  _ are going home for the holiday” Kendall squared up her shoulders, her expression stern, she needed the pink ranger to  _ understand  _ that the holidays weren’t always so carefree. “Snide is hungry and with our forces down to  _ three _ rangers on duty... I need to be prepared.” The fate of the world rested heavily on the shoulders of the purple ranger’s mind to think five steps ahead of the alien invaders. “So, consider  _ my  _ gift to  _ you all  _ a chance to go  _ home  _ and be with your families”

Shelby wasn’t going to simply take that, and let Kendall do this all alone.  _ “You _ are my family” She opened her arms out and gestured to the other rangers, “You are  _ all  _ my family. We’re power rangers, if something comes up we will  _ make  _ it work. We will always find a way to beat them. That’s what we  _ do.  _ All I want is one day, one night where we can sit back and not have to worry about  _ energems _ or  _ aliens.  _ We’re not co-workers, and it’s freaking Christmas” 

Shelby wasn’t going to budge, not on this, “And for the record, I’m not going home for the holidays. So this is  _ it _ for me, this is my Christmas. One where I can be with the people who really understand me...you guys are everything, and that includes  _ you”  _ Kendall didn’t have time for the tree, for the cookies, but like hell was Shelby going to let her get out of secret santa. “So with all due respect Ms Morgan. Pick a damn name.” 

Riley had dropped what was in his hands, to prevent himself from laughing Chase had to casually distance himself by turning away. Tyler and Koda however stood stunned,  _ no one  _ talked to Kendall that way. Ivan simply folded his arms awaiting what would come of this, and if he needed to be a chivalrous knight and step in. 

Kendall considered her options, the whole team was watching her now. “...Fine” As reluctant as ever, she placed her hand in the hat and pulled out a name. Her poker face was terrible, her eyes gave it away, she was clearly annoyed with her fate; with participating. 

Shelby was the last to draw a name,  _ Chase,  _ go figure. 

*****

The group decided that they would have their holiday party the night before Chase and Riley traveled back home to be with family. James, the aqua ranger, had come to the gathering as well. That way he could celebrate with his fellow rangers before taking Tyler on a father son retreat in the morning. The only ranger  _ not  _ in attendance was Prince Phillip the graphite ranger. He, of course, had a country to run and formal events to host, yet he made sure to ship each and every ranger gifts wrapped in a sheen silver paper in his absence. 

Chase surprised everyone by showing initiate and taking point in preparing the Christmas feast. His one rule being that clumsy Shelby couldn’t be anywhere  _ near  _ his kitchen. He, Ivan and Riley spent hours utilizing the dino bite cafe for the main course as well as a couple of side dishes. Shelby and Tyler set the table while James settled in, the aqua ranger still hadn’t quite found his place among the team yet. So he stood near Kendall, doing his best not to disturb the woman from her work. 

“Isn’t this supposed to be the holiday?” He asked softly, “Are you really going to work up until the moment the party starts?”

Kendall calmly walked away from her computer to check on the chemicals on the nearby station, her heels clicking with purpose. She had been working on her latest and greatest dino charger, “Yes” 

The aqua ranger sighed, this really  _ wasn’t  _ his place. He didn’t have a right to tell Kendall how she should be spending her time, “You know, take it from someone who’s missed  _ years  _ of memories. Time goes by like” He snapped his fingers, “And all of a sudden you look back and realize how much you  _ could  _ have done” James rested a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t work yourself to the bone, you’ll miss out on what’s right in front of your face” 

Kendall watched her newest dino charger fill with purple energy, it was just about ready, “Thank you for your concern” She remained polite with Mr. Navarro, “But this isn’t  _ ranger-related”  _ Once the dino charger was fully ready to go she took it off its holder and placed it in a small purple box, a pink ribbon tying it nearly together. James blinked in surprise, was Kendall seriously giving away a dino charger as a Christmas gift? He decided it was best not to comment on her life choices and instead offered to get her wine instead. This was a party after all, and with what they dealt with as rangers they  _ deserved  _ to kick back with a drink. 

Dinner, of course, went beautifully. Chase and his sous chefs made a splendid meal. The team could share stories of the past year, filing in James on adventures he had missed out on. Tyler would energetically light up as he described fighting Heckyl’s monsters, and how even if he had the final blow he would go into details on how each and every member of the team contributed. James knew in his heart, that even though he was missing out on adventures, this was for the best. Tyler had grown  _ so _ much, so did all of the other rangers...from strangers, to teammates to a family.

Koda had been the most antsy about getting secret santa started. He didn’t understand many of the details of Christmas, but at the core the holiday meant giving to someone else. To Koda he didn’t care as much about receiving a present, but if he could brighten someone else’s day, he would do whatever he could to make their holiday special. He had Tyler as his secret Santa, and for the leader of the team he drew Tyler an original cave painting of the team for him. One painted on a rock and pulled it from the cave itself so it could be used as a decoration in his place. Tyler was next to give his gift, and he had the green ranger Riley. He knew the logical ranger well, and bought him a labyrinth game. A wooden maze with a small ball bearing that Riley would have to use a notch at the side of the box to tilt it left and right to push through. 

An excited green ranger set it on the table, raring to beat it as quickly as possible. But first he had to keep the gift giving going. Riley grabbed his gift, his secret santa was Kendall. As the two intellectuals of the team, Riley knew Kendall’s taste extremely well. He bought her a stack of mystery novels that she could wind down and read late at night. That was, if she ever decided to do something  _ nice _ for herself. 

Now that it was the purple rangers turn, she brought out the small box and set it in front of Shelby. The pink ranger’s eyes brightened, what could Kendall have gotten her? She didn’t waste a single moment to open it. Shelby tilted her head in confusion as she plucked a dino charger out of the box...this, wasn’t what she had in mind. A fossil, a book on dinosaurs maybe but...maybe Kendall didn’t understand gift giving.

“Whoa you got a power up for Christmas?” Chase took it from Shelby and turned it in his hand, “Jealous, I wish I had Ms Morgan for secret santa” As Chase’s secret Santa, Shelby had to frown in his direction,  _ seriously Chase? _

“What’s it do?” Tyler asked curiously, taking a turn to look at it. “Is it a super mega Tricera Drill?”

“Oh! Or a new power blast?” The black ranger asked, his attention on Ms Morgan. 

“No and no” Kendall tutted her head, she sighed all too used to her rangers over excitement. After taking a sip of her wine she got up to her feet and took the dino charger from Tyler, “You’ll have to wait to use this”

“I have to wait until Christmas?” Shelby pouted, absolutely unfair, everyone else was able to use their secret santa presents right away. “Why?”

“Trust me, it wouldn’t be right if you did it now” Kendall’s brow quirked, “Call it me getting into the holiday spirit” Or being mean, and making Shelby  _ wait _ until Christmas day to actually open her present. 

_ “Fiiiiine”  _ With a huff, Shelby snagged the dino charger back from Kendall, putting it somewhere safe. Kendall better believe that the moment the hour struck midnight and it was  _ officially _ Christmas, the pink ranger would be shooting off the mysterious charge. 

The show must go on, and Shelby gave her gift to Chase. Since the black ranger was a bit strapped for cash, he could only afford basic black t-shirts or black hoodies. She went a  _ little _ above the spending limit so she could get him a black name brand hoodie to show off at the skatepark. Chase was the next to give his gift. The black ranger had pulled Ivan, and not really knowing  _ what _ the knight actually  _ liked _ he simply wrapped up his  _ old _ hand me down skateboard. Ivan was the last to go, he wound up with Koda and because of that he bought the caveman a pair of boots, wanting to try and improve his wardrobe. 

“Shelby” Kendall caught the pink ranger as the boys were having a bit of fun trying to put boots on a reluctant Koda’s feet. “I was wondering...since you said you were  _ staying _ in Amber Beach for the holiday, if you wanted to stay at my place tonight.” The purple ranger glanced down, showing an uncharismatic ounce of insecurity. She brought a finger up to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose, “With Tyler, Riley and Chase going out of town…” Kendall sighed, “No one should wake up Christmas morning alone.” Ivan and Koda both had Keeper to keep them company for the morning. 

“...I’d really like that” Shelby smiled, her excitement sky rocketing that she would be getting alone time with the purple ranger. For the team being so big, there were only two girls and the pair didn’t hang out nearly as much as they should. “Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Hm.” The purple ranger carried a confident smile, “Just your morpher” O-kay…

*****

 

The party had to come to an end at some point. Tyler and James volunteered to drive Riley to his family’s farm; while Kendall made sure to get Chase to the international airport. It gave Shelby a chance to corral Koda and Ivan into cleaning the base for Kendall so she wouldn’t have to worry about it later. The last thing Ms Morgan would need on top of her workload was a party clean up. 

Shelby had never been invited to Kendall’s apartment before. She almost didn’t think it actually existed and that Ms Morgan lived at the museum. She carried a small fake little Christmas tree in her hands, she had gone to the store before arriving at Kendall’s as she didn’t want to come empty handed. 

“You...brought a tree?” Kendall took the decoration from Shelby and placed it on her dining room table. That was  _ so _ Shelby.

The pink ranger walked into the small apartment as if stepping through the magical closet gate to Narnia. She was completely awestruck. Of course Kendall’s apartment was in pristine condition...it barely looked like someone  _ lived  _ here. Shelby instantly gravitated toward Kendall’s bookshelf, wondering how many of these articles Kendall had been published in. “I figured you wouldn’t have one”

Shelby was right, Kendall hadn’t put out a single holiday decoration. “I didn’t have time” Kendall admitted, finding the small tree Shelby brought over endearing. 

“There’s always time” Shelby tilted her head back, “I may be stepping out of line here, but you work yourself  _ way  _ too much”

Kendall huffed out a sigh, joining Shelby in her living room, “That’s how it’s always been. I was put into an advance track growing up. Graduated with my degree in a record time” Kendall was only twenty six and advanced so far in her career that she became the director of her own museum. Amber Beach was her baby and with a tunnel vision focus, it didn’t give her much opportunity to build friendships. She was too smart for her age group, and too young for her intellectual peers to give her the time of day. “...I’m accustomed to doing it all myself…” To being  _ isolated.  _

Shelby wasn’t dumb, she was bright for her age and observant as ever. “You’re on a  _ team  _ now...you don’t have be so alone anymore…”

“You’re persistent as ever...but I know, this ranger team is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. I want to do everything in my power to keep you safe on the front lines” Kendall shook her head, “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing any of you, not if there’s something I can do”

“Hey, Hey it’s okay” Shelby chances to reach out and touch Kendall’s forearm, “Nothing is going to bring us down if we work together, and I’m not saying to stop altogether just...slow down a little” She pauses to laugh, “Or get Riley to be your official assistant” 

“Mm, I may look into that option” Kendall’s eyes drifted down to Shelby’s hand on her arm.  _ “Or  _ maybe,  _ you  _ could spend more time in the lab with me” 

_ “Me?”  _ Shelby was shocked that the purple ranger would ever consider her help to make dino chargers. 

“You’ve come a long way from being a waitress in my cafe” The memory brought a smile to Kendall’s face, “You may be one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met but I admire your ambition, your drive...Tyler may be the leader on the battlefield, but you are the  _ heart  _ of our team”

The pink ranger couldn’t deny the fact that she was stubborn. She often defied Kendall’s wishes to try and prove the older woman wrong. “Well if that’s the case, I’d be honored” Shelby couldn’t help but smile, “The first order of business would be to make Shelby more pink dino chargers” 

Kendall rolled her eyes, “I shouldn’t even be surprised by that” The purple ranger checked on her watch, surprised that it was minutes away from becoming Christmas, “Ah, did you bring your morpher?”

Shelby frowned in confusion, checking her phone for the time. “I did...but...why?”

“You have yet to use your secret santa present” Kendall walked Shelby to the apartment window, opening it up for the pink ranger, “I want you to shoot for the stars”

“Is that a metaphor?”

Kendall scoffed out a laugh, “I’m a scientific mind, when I say shoot for the stars I mean that literally”

Shelby inserted the dino charger into her dino morpher, she hesitantly pointed the gun up to the sky as instructed and shot off a blast. A white puffy explosion poofed and then.... “...Nothing happened?” 

“Wait for it” Kendall stood beside Shelby, her hand resting on the small of the pink ranger’s back.

Shelby patiently waited for the dino charger to activate and boy was she not disappointed. From the source of the blast snow started to fall. Snow. Actual real life snow. Something that should never exist in sunny Amber Beach. “It’s snowing!” She took a moment to take in the sight of the white powder floating down in the night, “It’s beautiful…ah! It’s going to be a white Christmas!” Something that Shelby had never experienced before. 

Gah! Shelby didn’t know what she would do first. Try to make a snowman? Or snow angels? Catch snowflakes on her tongue or make some hot chocolate to watch the snow pile up. She was so excited she could hug Kendall as a thank you...but getting caught up in the moment led to her turning and kissing the purple rangers lips. 

The moment she realized what she had done she pulled away. Oh  _ god _ Chase would have a field day with this one. “I am  _ so  _ sorry. I uh, I didn’t know what came over me and-“

“Shelby” Kendall calmed her down in an instant by resting a hand on the younger girl’s cheek, a moment later and her lips were upon the pink ranger’s. “Merry Christmas” 

So the pink ranger was right, even someone like Kendall could find time to open up her heart for the holiday...and maybe much  _ more. _


End file.
